Lindsay Pavlas's blog

Attention, pop culture enthusiasts! Join Amita Patel and Sean David Johnson for an insider's look at the entertainment industry on Inside Pop, Maximum Fun's newest podcast. Starting July 5th, you'll be able to find new Inside Pop episodes right here. Don't miss a single moment -- subscribe now in Apple Podcasts or wherever you download podcasts.

Hey all you lovely $10+ monthly members in good standing: we've started sending out emails with links to buy enamel pins, but we're doing it in batches!

When you check for your pin email, be sure to check your spam folder (and your Promotions tab if you use Gmail), as well as your regular email inbox!

Since these are going out in batches, we'll need to give it some time. If you do not receive an email by TOMORROW, Thursday, April 27, and you believe you are a current $10+ monthly member, please email lindsay@maximumfun.org, and we'll get it sorted out for you.

As a reminder, this is a limited-time sale -- you have until next Wednesday, May 3rd to get your hands on these, so don't lollygag!

Thank you again for your amazing support, and for making it possible for us to sell these awesome Megan Lynn Kott. creations! All profits from the sale will be going to the LA Regional Food Bank.

Please note: We are ordering the pins to be manufactured after the sale ends, so you do not have to worry about anything selling out. Also, this means it will be a while before anything ships -- we're looking at mid-June.

It's no secret that the response to Megan Lynn Kott's beautiful enamel pins blew us all away, and the more we looked at those enchanting designs, the more we realized we had to let people get their hands on these.

We'll be sending out an email to all $10+ monthly members in good standing with a link to the sale and a personal code to enter next Wednesday.

Pins will be $9 each, plus shipping. You'll be able to order these pins for this one-week period only. We'll place the order on May 4th, then send it to our fulfillment center who will send it to you. So if you've been on the fence about getting a pin, this will be your only chance!

Sneak peak of the MBMBaM sample pins. ZAG!

Finally, as a reminder, the profits from this sale will be going to charity — we're teaming up with the folks at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to turn the inherent collectability of these pins into food for hungry families in the LA area. We think it's going to be a huge success!

As always, thank you so much for your support and listenership! If you have any questions about the pin sale, email lindsay@maximumfun.org!

By the way, if you joined or upgraded during the drive and are receiving a pin or any other thank you gift, we expect you'll be receiving those in the mail around 10-12 weeks after the end of the drive (so, mid-June). Your gifts will arrive separately from your purchased pins.

Holy smokes! This has been, by far, our biggest, most successful MaxFunDrive ever, and it's all thanks to you, our wonderful listeners. Thank you so much for stepping up, joining, upgrading, and spreading the word. You rule.

If you're just now tuning in, don't fret -- we're going to continue to offer our amazing pledge gifts over the weekend. Simply join or upgrade your membership before Monday, get your gifts, and support your favorite MaxFun shows!

We'll get back to you soon with more information about how $10+ monthly members can purchase additional pins, but for now, enjoy the feeling of knowing you make all of our shows possible. Thank you so, so much!

The 2017 MaxFunDrive is fast approaching (it starts this Monday, March 20th, in fact!). What is the MaxFunDrive? It's the best time to show your support for your favorite MaxFun shows by becoming a monthly member or upgrading your monthly membership. It's also the time of year when we really up our ante in terms of delivering truly excellent content. And you know what else?

It's when we offer the best, most excellent and exciting gifts. And I think we really outdid ourselves this year.

If you start or upgrade to a $200 monthly membership, we'll cover your MaxFunCon 2018 registration. That's right -- everything you need to have the best weekend of your life in Lake Arrowhead, California is on us: food, lodging, entertainment, drinks, and swag. Basically, get yourself there, and we'll take care of the rest.

Let's say you join as a $100 monthly member, or upgrade your existing membership to $100 per month. You get a spot in MaxFun's exclusive culture club: the Inner Circle. Each month for the next 12 months, we reach out to a MaxFun host for a piece of culture (movie, book, or album) that they think our members will love. We send it to you in the mail (or over email for digital downloads) along with a note explaining why our host picked it. Never run out of cool culture again.

We decided to keep with the glassware tradition for our new and upgrading $35 plus monthly members. This year we are so excited for this pair of quality glass beer mugs, engraved with the classic Maximum Fun rocket ship! Gone are your days of serving beer to your friends in cans and bottles! You will be able to class AND chill up your act with these great mugs. They'll even hold non-beer beverages! Cheers to MaxFun and friendship!

Remember how good it feels to get a handwritten card in the mail? We’re here to help you spread that feeling! For our new and upgrading $20 plus monthly members, we’ve put together a really special Keep In Touch Kit. In the KIT Kit, you’ll get a set of Max Fun note cards, designed by our own Brian "Sunny D" Fernandes; a self-inking stamp that is sure to lift your friends’ spirits; a four-color rocket pen; and, to put you in a cozy and nostalgic mood while crafting your notes, MaxFun's official candlemaker, Erica Huff, created a rocket-shaped, pencil-shaving-scented candle. Let’s bring back that good old fashioned correspondence!

We can’t even describe how excited we are for what we have in store for folks who join at or upgrade to $10 per month. But we'll give it a shot. The inimitable Megan Lynn Kott has once again DELIVERED in designing this year’s gift: drive-exclusive enamel pins, with a design for each show! Check out the designs, choose which pin you want, and flaunt your love for your favorite MaxFun show. Put it on your hoodie, backpack, tote bag, denim jacket, or whatever article of clothing you're wearing! Stick it in your cork board! Keep it in your pocket, and pull it out if someone questions your podcast bona fides. What a fool that person was to doubt you!

Thank you so much to everyone who joined, upgraded, and spread the word about the 2016 MaxFunDrive! We ended the night at 8,752 new and upgrading members, which blew all of our expectations out of the water.

Thanks to your generosity, we'll be sending a check to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for over 18,700 meals for hungry Angelenos.

And since we smashed our stretch goal of 7,500, we'll be getting to work on the pledge drive wallpaper and ringtones for members. Look out for those in the coming weeks!

If you weren't able to join or upgrade during the drive, you can do so this weekend, and still be eligible for the neat pledge gifts. But after that, those bandanas are gone forever, and you can kiss your chances of laying your hands on a MaxFun thermos goodbye!

From all of us at MaxFun, thank you so, so much for believing in and standing by what we do.

We've achieved our goal of 5,000 new and upgrading members. In fact, we've breezed past our goal, and we're at 5,762. This is just astonishing; if you've already stepped up and joined or upgraded, thank you so much. If not, you still have 3 1/4 days to join or upgrade your membership, get all of our exclusive pledge drive thank you gifts, and add to our growing grand total.

For every new and upgrading member above our initial goal of 5,000, MaxFun will be donating the cash equivalent of 5 meals to our friends at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. That means we're already in for over 3800 meals for needy families in LA, and we're not stopping until the drive ends on Friday. Let's give back to MaxFun HQ's home community, together!

Plus, we're adding a stretch goal to the mix! If we hit 7,500 new and upgrading members, we'll release a pack of MaxFun Digital Premiums for $5+ monthly donors, which will include:

We're about to head out to our local MaxFun meet up tonight (you can find yours here), but we just had to give you this awesome news and thank you again for your amazing support and listenership. Let's finish strong!

The 2016 MaxFunDrive is here! The next two weeks are all about us delivering the best episodes of the year. It's also the single best time to support your favorite MaxFun shows by becoming a monthly member or upgrading your existing membership. We love making awesome shows for you, year-round, but we need your help to do it!

In addition to the Warm Glow one feels when contributing during the MaxFunDrive, new and upgrading members will get some truly astonishing thank you gifts: your selection of a classy, MaxFun bandana; the Adventure Necessities Collection, for all of your out-doorsy needs; and an elegantly practical thermos (drinkware for the adventurer), just to name a few. Plus, all members get access to our enormous collection of bonus content -- dozens of hours of secret podcasts just for you!

Our goal this year is a whopping 5000 new and upgrading members. Can we count on you to help us reach that goal? Join or upgrade now at maximumfun.org/donate. And once you do, be sure to let us know on Twitter with the #MaxFunDrive hashtag, so we may doff our caps to you.

Thank you so much for your support! Let's make the 2016 MaxFunDrive the greatest yet!